Expect playoff atmosphere with Blazers eyeing last spot
Rockets guard Eric Gordon wishes the playoffs started today.
With the San Antonio Spurs out of reach and the Utah Jazz back far enough in the rearview mirror, the Rockets are destined for the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference and are using the remaining regularseason games to keep their edge and correct mistakes like the ones that riddled Tuesday’s 113-106 home loss to the Golden State Warriors.
Portland is on the other end of the spectrum. Fighting for their playoff lives and scoreboard-watching resonates with the Trail Blazers these days.
Sitting at the No. 8 seed and coming off Tuesday’s 122-113 home win over the Denver Nuggets — the team trailing them by one game — the Blazers really can’t afford to drop a third straight game to the Rockets.
So, Gordon may indirectly get his wish. The calendar won’t be turned to April and it’s not Game 1 of a playoff series, but considering what’s on the line for the Blazers, it may feel like it when the teams play Thursday night at the Moda Center.
“It’ll be a good environment,” Gordon said. “Just have to play it like it’s any other game. We’re a very good team. We know they’re playing for their lives and we’re going to continue to get better and try to win.”
Portland on a roll
As luck would have it, the Rockets arrive in the middle of a Portland hot streak. The Blazers have won four straight and a victory Thursday would give Portland its longest winning streak of the year at just the right time. Six of its last eight regular-season games are at home in its bid for the final playoff spot in the West.
But the Rockets haven’t had many issues with Portland this year as evidenced by a 17-point victory at the Toyota Center on Nov. 7 and a 16-point win in Portland 10 days later.
Whether a repeat happens depends on how the Rockets respond following Tuesday’s loss in which they had a season-tying low of five 3-pointers. They get another shot against Golden State on Friday in a back-to-back, which has spelled good news this year.
‘Two-headed monster’
The Rockets are an NBA-best 13-1 in the second game of back-to-backs. But starting with Portland, this might be one of the tougher back-to-backs of the season.
“They’ve been playing well, too,” Rockets guard Pat Beverley said. “Damian Lillard and (C.J.) McCollum, of course they’re beasts. We have to be ready for that. Ready for that two-headed monster. I think this is a good game to prepare for Portland and come back and play Golden State.
“So, it’s going to be fun. We’ll still go do us and hopefully the shots will fall.”
Even though the shots weren’t falling Tuesday, there wasn’t much panic in the Rockets’ locker room after a 10th loss in the last 11 tries against the Warriors.
Golden State crowded the 3-point line and defensively took away what the Rockets do best. But the Rockets say it simply comes down to making 3s.
Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said there won’t be many times 5-of-31 is on the stat sheet under their 3-point column. The 1,075 made 3-pointers has the Rockets comfortably atop the league.
Stick with the plan
So, guard James Harden said stick to what has earned the Rockets 51 wins before spotting Golden State 37 points in the first quarter.
“Keep everything how it is,” said Harden, who notched his 20th tripledouble of the year Tuesday. “We’ve been doing the same thing all year long. We’re good. We’re in a good place right now.
“We’ve been playing really, really well up until that first quarter (Tuesday). But other than that, we’ve still been playing well. Take one to the chin, go up to Portland and try to get a win.”